The invention relates to a process for cleaning fluff-collecting screens (fluff screens) in an apparatus for smoothing articles of clothing, the fluff being removed from the top side of the fluff screen from time to time as a result of suction. The invention also relates to a device for cleaning (fluff) screens by sucking off the fluff, in an apparatus for the treatment of articles of clothing.
The invention is therefore concerned with the design of apparatuses for smoothing articles of clothing, especially for the simultaneous drying and smoothing of washed articles of clothing by means of flowing media, such as steam and hot air. An exemplary embodiment of an apparatus of this type is illustrated and described in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 3,224,948. The articles of clothing to be treated, suspended on clothes-hangers, are conveyed through the tunnel-like apparatus. Steam and hot air are directed onto the articles of clothing from above. The flowing media are guided over a fluff screen arranged in the lower region, fluff thereby being filtered out.
In the known apparatus for the treatment of articles of clothing (so-called finishers), the fluff screen is cleared of the fluff from time to time by means of a suction box which is moved over the fluff screen. The performance of this suction box has not proved adequate to free fluff from the fluff screen to a sufficient extent, particularly within short cleaning times.